MORE sexual offences were recorded in North Worcestershire over the last year, despite an overall drop in recorded crime.

West Mercia Police recorded 718 incidents of sexual offences in North Worcestershire in the 12 months to June, according to the Office for National Statistics.

That was an increase of nine per cent compared to the previous year.

At 2.5 crimes per 1,000 people, that was in line with the rate across England and Wales, which stood at 2.8.

Around 5.8 million offences were recorded across England and Wales in the year to June – in line with the previous year – though there was a three per cent decrease to 4.9 million offences when excluding fraud and computer misuse.

Nick Stripe, head of crime statistics at the ONS, said the figures showed overall reductions in the reporting and recording of many crime types during periods of lockdown.

However, reports of fraud and hacking continued to rise – something the ONS previously suggested was due to criminals taking advantage of behavioural changes during the pandemic, while many took to online shopping amid lockdowns when there were restrictions on movement.

The total number of offences in North Worcestershire fell by 7 per cent, with police recording 18,040 crimes over the course of the year.

This puts the overall crime rate at 62.8 per 1,000 people, compared to a national average of 81.3.

Other crimes recorded in North Worcestershire included 7,707 violent offences, a rise of two per cent, 5,071 theft offences, down 23 per cent, 1,854 incidents of criminal damage and arson, down 10 per cent and 198 possession of weapons such as firearms or knives, down 12 per cent.

Mr Stripe added: “The rise could be due to an increase in victim reporting as lockdowns eased as a result of high-profile cases and campaigns in recent times.”